To ruin an Omega

Chapter 124: Close

FIA

I peeled the wet dress from my skin. The fabric clung stubbornly to every curve before finally releasing its hold. Water pooled at my feet. I kicked the dress aside and reached for something simpler. A loose tunic and fitted trousers. Comfortable. Easy to move in.

The newer towel felt soft against my damp hair. I rubbed until the strands were merely damp instead of dripping. My fingers worked through the tangles with practiced efficiency.

I glanced at the spot where Bo had died. Where Cian had killed her. The floor was clean now. Spotless. But I could still see it. The blood. The way her body had crumpled. The light leaving her eyes.

My reflection stared back at me from the mirror. Pale skin. Dark eyes that held too many secrets. I looked tired. Worn down by the weight of everything I carried.

But I couldn’t afford to look weak. Not now.

I straightened my shoulders, lifted my chin and put on the mask I had perfected over the years.

Then I walked to the door and pulled it open.

Cian stood right there. His hand had been raised. Perhaps preparing to knock. He lowered it slowly when he saw me. His eyes swept over my casual attire and something warm flickered in their depths.

“I’m ready.”

“Great.” He offered his hand.

I took it. His fingers closed around mine. Warm and secure. The bond hummed with satisfaction at the contact.

We walked through the corridors in comfortable silence. My wet shoes had been replaced with soft slippers that made no sound against the stone floors. Servants bowed their heads as we passed. I wondered what they thought. What rumors were already spreading about the Omega who had been thrown into the pool by Aldric’s daughter.

The ballroom doors loomed ahead. Cian pushed them open.

I stopped in the doorway and stared in.

The entire space had been repolished. The marble floors gleamed under the chandelier light. Every surface sparkled. Clean, perfect and completely unlike the chaos we had left here last night.

The scattered buttons were gone. Every single one. No evidence remained of how we had torn at each other’s clothing in our desperate need to get closer.

My cheeks burned at the memory.

Cian’s hand slipped from mine. He crossed the room to where a music system sat against the far wall. His fingers moved over the controls with practiced ease.

A beautiful score filled the space. Violin and piano wove together in perfect harmony. The melody was hauntingly romantic. Achingly intimate.

He turned back to me and extended his hand. “You still remember our practice from yesterday?”

I walked toward him and placed my hand in his. “I told you I learn fast.”

His other hand settled on my waist. Mine found his shoulder. We fell into the familiar position easily. Naturally. Like we had done this a thousand times before instead of just once.

The music swelled. We began to move.

My feet followed his lead without thought. One step. Two. Turn. The rhythm came as easily as breathing. My body remembered every correction he had made. Every adjustment. Every moment his hands had guided me into the proper form.

“Your memory is a wonder.”

I looked up at him and met his gaze. “I tend to remember a lot in color.”

His smile widened. “Everything?”

The hunger hit me through the bond. Sharp and immediate. It crashed over my senses like a wave. My breath caught in my throat. I swallowed hard.

Cian pulled me closer. The space between us disappeared. His hand on my waist tightened. His eyes darkened with an intensity that made my heart race.

He leaned down. His intention clear in the way his gaze dropped to my lips.

I turned my head at the last second.

His lips brushed my cheek instead. They were warm, soft and so close to where I wanted them. But not quite.

His hand came up. His fingers were gentle but firm as he craned my face back toward his. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

“Then why—”

“It’s just that…” I paused. The words caught in my throat. How did I explain this? How did I put into words the confusion that had been building since last night without sounding desperate?

“Just what?”

I took a breath and used that to steady myself. “Yesterday was good. Nice even. But…”

His brow furrowed. “But what?”

“What is this?” The question came out in a rush. “What are we?”

“I’m confused.”

I pulled back slightly. Put enough distance between us that I could think clearly. That I could say what needed to be said without getting distracted by his proximity.

“Before last night, I didn’t know what we were or what I wanted from you.” My voice was quiet but steady. “But I…”

The words died. Fear rose up. Sharp and bitter. Being vulnerable was dangerous. Showing someone your true feelings gave them power over you. I had learned that lesson the hard way a lot younger.

But Cian’s smile shifted and they grew wider. Almost like that of a Cheshire cat in its knowing quality. Then he stepped closer and crowded into my space until I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

“You what?”

I swallowed. “I just want to know where you and I stand.”

His hands came up and cupped my face with infinite gentleness. His thumbs brushed over my cheekbones. The touch sent shivers down my spine.

“Where we stand,” he repeated. His voice had gone low. Intimate. “You want to know what you mean to me?”

I nodded. Unable to speak.

“Fia.” My name on his lips sounded like a prayer. “From the moment you walked into my life, everything changed. I told myself it was just the bond. Just the goddess playing her games with fate and destiny. But it’s more than that. So much more.”

His forehead pressed against mine. Our breaths mingled in the space between us.

“You challenge me. You question everything I thought I knew. You make me want to be better. Stronger. Worthy of the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching.”

My heart thundered in my chest. The bond sang with the truth of his words.

“I’ve spent my whole life being careful. Being measured. Making decisions based on logic and reason and what’s best for the pack.” His thumb traced my bottom lip. “But with you, I don’t want to be careful. I don’t want to hold back. You make me even see it is possible to forget my first.”

“Cian—”

“Let me finish.” His eyes searched mine. Desperate and vulnerable in a way I had never seen before. “You scare me. The way you make me feel scares me. Because I know what it means. I know what I’m risking by letting you in.”

I held my breath and waited.

“I’ve been there. I’ve also watched people fall in love my whole life. I know and I have watched how it can destroy them when it goes wrong. I know how it makes them weak. Makes them stupid.” He laughed. Soft and self deprecating. “And now here I am. Doing all the things I swore I would never do again. Feeling all the things I promised myself I would avoid.”

His hands tightened on my face. He held me like I might disappear if he let go.

“You asked me what we are. What this is between us.” He took a shaky breath. “We’re two people who found each other in the worst circumstances imaginable. Two people who should probably still hate each other based on everything that brought us together. But instead…”

He paused. His gaze held mine with an intensity that made everything else fade away.

“Instead I find myself thinking about you constantly. Wondering what you’re doing. If you’re safe. If you’re happy. I find myself wanting to protect you from everything. Even from the parts of yourself that are so determined to face danger alone.”

My eyes stung. I blinked rapidly.

“I want to know everything about you. Your favorite color. What makes you laugh. What keeps you up at night. I want to be the person you turn to when things fall apart. The one you trust with your secrets and your fears and all the broken pieces you try so hard to hide.”

His voice dropped to barely above a whisper.

“I want mornings with you. And nights. And every moment in between. I want to dance with you in empty ballrooms and argue with you about pack politics and watch you roll your eyes at me when I’m being insufferable.”

A tear slipped down my cheek. He caught it with his thumb.

“So I guess I like you, Fia. I guess I might even…” He paused. The words hung between us. Heavy with meaning. “Love you.”

The world stopped. Everything went still and silent except for the pounding of my heart and the music still playing in the background.

“Is that what you wanted to know?”

I nodded. Unable to form words around the lump in my throat.

“Good.” His smile was pure warmth. Pure joy. “Is that enough?”

I nodded again. More emphatic this time.

“Good,” he repeated, the word roughened by promise as he drew me in, erasing the last whisper of space between our bodies. His breath warmed the shell of my ear, a deliberate brush that sent a shiver down my spine. “Now bring those lips over here.”

I didn’t hesitate. I rose onto my toes, already leaning into him, already aching for the contact, and closed the distance.

His mouth claimed mine with a hungry certainty that stole the air from my lungs. This wasn’t a gentle test or a careful start; it was raw, immediate need, the kind that spoke without words. His hands slid from my face to my waist, strong and sure, pulling me flush against him until there was no mistaking how much he wanted me. My arms looped around his neck, holding on as the room tipped and spun, as if the rest of the world had slipped out of focus.

The bond between us flared to life, a sudden rush of heat and electricity that made every sensation blaze brighter. I felt his heart pounding beneath my palms, fast and unrestrained. I tasted his desire in the kiss, sensed his emotions cresting and breaking against me in steady, overwhelming waves.

His tongue traced my bottom lip in a slow, coaxing sweep. I opened for him without thinking, welcoming him closer, letting the kiss deepen until I was lost in him—in the warmth of his mouth, in the firm pull of his hands, in the way he held me like I mattered, like I was something precious and necessary and longed for.

We only broke apart when we had no choice, when breath became an urgent need. He rested his forehead against mine, our breaths mingling, both of us still catching up.

“I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he said, his voice low and honest.

I laughed softly, lightheaded and giddy. “Just all day?”

“Maybe longer.” His thumb traced slow, absent circles on my hip, each pass a quiet promise that this was only the beginning.